Chapter 4: Revelation


The sun rose over the Tree of Life, and slowly woke its inhabitants, save those who dwelled at night. Baliyo and the Night Pride finally returned to their resting place in the savanna.

"Slow night, I thought it might never end." Kanda yawned as she and Idan cuddled up beside each other. Afia felt her eyelids grow heavier and was more than ready for a long day of sleep. However, despite staying up all night, Baliyo gazed back at the horizon with an anxious expression.

"Baliyo, you're going to wear yourself out. Are you prepping for when our cub is born?" Afia laughed as she nudged up against him.

"I don't like it. There was something out there we missed last night." Afia continued chuckling.

"Baliyo, we checked the island twice, you were just seeing things. Come on, relax a little." Afia purred while licking his face. Baliyo took a deep breath and lowered his head.

"I don't know, Afia. It seems like every time strangers come here. Things eventually go awry. First Kion and the others, then Kopa, now these humans who keep showing up."

"Really? You realize Kion eventually became the King and out brother in law. Kopa and his friends united the Kingdoms into one." Baliyo went silent for a moment.

"I still think I saw something. Maybe we should ask one of the other guards to-"

"Help!" All four of the Night lions instantly turned to the cry and saw a dozen animals running in terror: Antelope, hyenas, and a few elephants all with terror in their faces.

"Come on!" Baliyo roared before his Guard hurried over to see what was pursuing them.

"I knew last night was too easy! Where are the poachers or herd!?" Idan roared.

"Run! Monsters!" Ane elephant shrieked.

"Monsters?" Baliyo asked. However, he saw unmatched terror in the eyes of his Guard members. The lion slowly turned to where they were looking and began to tremble.

"Monsters!"


At the Tree of Life, Phineas and Ferb made breakfast for everyone, including Doofenshmirtz and his family.

"Why, thank you, you kids are very kind." Charlene said as Ferb handed her a plate.

Nirmala looked over Perry while Makini did the same to Heinz.

"Well, Perry, I'd say you're all better and ready to go home." Nirmala purred. The platypus played dumb for a moment and did his usual growl but then gave a deep smile of gratitude to which Nirmala licked him. Phineas and Ferb both took Perry in their arms before giving him a big hug.

"Thank you, Nirmala, Makini."

"It's our job." Makini said as she removed the cast of vines from Heinz's arm.

"Wow, that's amazing, even my healinjuriesinator didn't work this fast! Of course, it didn't work in the long term anyway. The injuries returned in a few minutes. That's what I get for buying cheap parts." As Heinz got up, he noticed the murals on the wall beside him.

"Wow these are beautiful, did you make them?"

"Thanks, they were a lot of hard work." As Heinz looked them over, he stopped at one mural in particular and slowly approached.

"Hey, this looks just like Hometree."

All eyes now turned to Doofenshmirtz as he pointed at the mural.

"What did you say?" Surak growled.

"This tree, I used to live at one, just like it in Drusselstein when I was a boy. You see, when I was a child, my parents disowned me, and a family of ocelots took me in. They lived at a tree just like this one."

"Your family disowned you!" Isabella shouted.

"Why would they do that to you!?" Phineas shouted. Doofenshmirtz shrugged.

"Well my little brother roger was taking up their attention and he asked for a second room for his birthday, so they gave him mine." The children and animals' mouths dropped.

"Well, that's low." Buford said.

"Heinz, I'm so sorry." Isabella said as she came up and took his hand. Charlene took a deep breath and rolled her eyes.

"Here, he goes again."

Vanessa, however, didn't share her mother's dismissive attitude.

"Mom, do you ever wonder if maybe there is some truth to dad's stories about his childhood?"

"Vanessa, no parents could be that absurdly abusive." Vanessa stared back at her father and thought back to how she'd never actually met her grandparents on his side. Whenever he told her the stories, it never seemed like he was lying.

"Have you ever met dad's parents?"

"No." Charlene admitted.

"Wait a minute, did you say you were raised by ocelots!?" Makini shouted.

"Yes, they were very kind. It was the first time in my life I felt wanted. But then one day when I came home from school, and they were gone. Someone had cut down Hometree too. I never saw them again." Heinz felt a single tear roll down his face as the animals looked at each other in horror.

"You don't think?" Nirmala asked. Phineas and his friends also nodded to each other.

"Heinz, we think your Hometree was the second Tree of Life." Phineas said.

"What? It was like this tree!"

"Who cut it down!?" Surak roared.

"I, I don't know. After my family was taken, I was on my own. I had to get a job being thrown at a dunk tank just to survive before my father forces me to be his lawn gnome." Isabella now felt ready to cry, but also grew a terrible rage.

"Where are your parents?"

"Back in Drusselstein, I haven't spoken with them in years. I-"

"What do you mean the Night Pride is missing!" They all heard Rani's roar like a bomb going off and hurried outside.

She was there with her council and the various Guards as Cadoc tried to catch his breath.

"I looked over the savanna twice, my liege, they're not there! No one was there! The entire area is deserted!" The eagle squawked. Kion and the others shared Rani's furious concern.

"Mom, Dad, what happened to uncle Baliyo and aunt Afia?" Kopa asked nervously. Rani took a deep breath and nuzzled him.

"We're going to find out." She growled.

"Woah, the Night Pride is missing!" Phineas shouted.

"Quite concerning." Ferb said.

"Anga, can you see anything?" Kion growled.

"Hold on!" She squawked before flying up and using her keen sight. Ono similarly flew out to try and find anything. Within moments, he squawked and fluttered as if something hit him.

"Hapana!"

Anga's eyes widened, and she too lost control for a moment.

"What is it!?" Kion nervously growled.

"I, I don't know!" Ono muttered. Phineas and the others soon heard something they never expected to hear at the Tree of Life, mechanical noises. Before anyone could speak, the monsters revealed themselves. Several dozen robots in the shape of men in suits with cages in their stomachs appeared on the hilltop.

"What are those!?" Fuli muttered, sounding truly afraid of the metal beasts.

"Robots!" Phineas cried.

"What's a robot!?" Rani snarled.

"A monster made of metal!" Isabella shouted.

Perry's shook in terror as he saw the army of robots before them.

"Help!" They heard from the hilltop.

Anga looked closer and saw an animal inside each cage. Even elephants had been contained by colossal cages.

"Kion! Rani!" Baliyo roared from inside one of the robots.

"Baliyo!" The King and Queen cried together with horrified looks.

"Hey, those are Norms!" Heinz shouted while pointing at them.

"What?" Surak growled.

"My Robot man, someone took his design and made an army of them, but who would-" Heinz's mouth drooped, and his face went pale as he saw three figures emerge on the hilltop.

Phineas and the others got a closer look and recognized the man in the middle as their mayor, Roger Doofenshmirtz with his trademark smile. Standing beside him were an older man and woman. The man was scrawny with a long grey beard. The woman was rather heavyset with similarly grey hair. All three wore old British styled safari outfits and helmets.

"There it is, the Tree of Life, it's even more beautiful than the one in Drusselstein." Roger said in a very content manner.

"More humans!" Surak growled.

"Is that Uncle Roger?" Vanessa asked.

"it is, and, and my parents." Heinz admitted.

"Those are your parents!" Isabella shook with anger as she stared at them.

"Those are your parents!" Surak snarled towards Heinz before Nirmala got between them.

"Calm down!"

"Well, look who's here, hello Heinz!" Roger shouted while waving at his brother. Heinz's parents, however, only stared at him with scorn and disgust.

"What, what are you doing here?" Heinz asked slowly.

"Well, you see, we've been looking for the Tree of Life for some time, Heinz. After all, my wonderful machine needs more fuel!" Two of the robot men lifted a huge machine that resembled one of Heinz's old inventions.

"Hey, hey I remember that! It's my voteformeinator I built when I was in grade school!" Heinz shouted.

"What?" Phineas asked.

"Well, you see when I was a child and Roger asked for my bedroom, my parents told me if I didn't get elected to student body president, that they'd disown me, so I build the voteformeinator, but I could never get it to work. It needed a special kind of fuel that didn't exist. I lost the election, and they disowned me, a few months later Hometree was cut down, and roger got elected-" Heinz stopped himself as the pieces started to come together.

"You! It was you who cut down Hometree!" Roger began to laugh.

"Well yes, as it turns out, the essence of the Tree can be used as fuel for the voteformeinator, and all those exotic animals also sold for top dollar." Roger chuckled.

"You! You cut down the other Tree of Life!" Kion roared.

"You cut it down so you could win your school election!?" Phineas shouted with just as much disgust.

"But of course, anything for our precious Roger." Mrs. Doofenshmirtz said as she hugged Roger.

"Wait, what about my ocelot family!?"

"Ohh yes, I understand they were sold to an exotic restaurant." Heinz stumbled only to be caught by Vanessa.

"No, no." He said with tears in his eyes.

"Hey, wait a minute! If you had all that money, why did I still have to be our gnome!?" He then shouted as his father.

"Hmp, it was the only thing you were ever good for, you pathetic waste of a son! You failed at everything! As a scientist, a husband, father!" Mr. Doofenshmirtz sneered. Charlene's face had gone pale, and she began to tear up.

"You mean, it was true? All those stories were real!?" Charlene and Vanessa stepped forward with their eyes on fire.

"You two are the worst parents on Earth!"

"Oh please, you're the only half-decent thing Heinz ever had, Vanessa." Roger laughed before a rock hit his head.

"Yaaah!"

"Roger!" Mr. and Mrs. Doofenshmirtz wailed in horror.

"You're only partly right." Vanessa said as Ferb blushed. Charlene teared up again as she hugged her ex-husband.

"Heinz, I, I'm so sorry."

"Ouch! Do you know how much I paid for this face!? It was half the city's road budget!"

"You used city funds to pay for personal things!?" Baljeet shouted.

"Of course, how do you think I built these robots?"

"You're an embezzler!"

"Really, everything else he admitted to, and that's what upsets you?" Buford asked.

"Insolent little girl! You're just as worthless as your father!" Mr. Doofenshimritz shouted.

"Now, now, father. Let's not forget all of this is possible because of Heinz. After all, he led us here."

"I, I did?" Heinz muttered as all eyes turned back to him.

"Of course, I knew you'd do anything to help your little Platypus friend there, so I had him poisoned knowing you would find the Tree just to save him." Roger said smugly.

Perry's beak dropped, and his tail began to twitch.

"You, you poisoned Perry!?" Ferb shouted in a tone louder than anyone had ever heard him use before.

"Anything to secure my election to the governor and then president. All these rare animals will certainly fetch a fine price."

Everyone around the Tree of Life was filled with so much rage they nearly shook. For Kion and the animals, only Radcliffe had made them angier than the humans in front of them.

"I'm going to rip them apart, limb by limb." Rani snarled with feral rage. Kopa had never been so afraid of his mother. Nor had the other cubs. Kion tried to remain calm and centered. He thought back to Radcliffe just to put these humans in perspective.

Still, the air around them began to pick up, and lion heads formed in the clouds above them.

"Ahh yes, the Roar which legend says is supposed to protect this place. Luckily we came prepared." One of the robots aimed its hands and fired a muzzle around Kion's mouth.

"Kion!" Rani yelped.

The King furiously tried to get the muzzle off with his paws. Ferb, Vanessa, and Heinz all attempted to help him but were too late. One of the robots flew down and snatched Kion in its cage.

"Dad!" Kopa wailed.

"Kion!" Rani and the others shouted again.

"That's it! Now, these things are gonna!-" Bunga screamed as he tried to maul one of the robots only to be snatched by another robot from behind.

Beshte huffed as he charged one of the robots with Bellezza.

"Twende kiboko!" Both hippos smashed a robot apart only to be surrounded by several more and snatched.

Fuli and Azaad used their overwhelming speed, but the sheer number of robots was too much, and both found themselves caged.

Ono and Anga tried to avoid the flying robots, but they moved too fast and were caged together.

Rani, her council, and the other guards fought a losing battle against the robots. Each of them was snatched up one by one as the cubs watched in horror.

"Ahhh! Make it stop!" Lyra sobbed.

Kopa fled from a robot who nearly had the cub, that was until Rani pounced on the robot from behind and ripped its circuits out.

"Mom!" cried, but it was too late. Another robot came from behind and seized Rani.

"Run!" Rani roared to her son.

"Mom, no!" Kopa had tears in his eyes as he watched her get taken away. Another robot came for Kopa and nearly took him.

"No, you don't!" Phineas jumped onto the robot's back and began rewiring it. Nearby, Ferb did the same thing to a robot that tried to take Perry. In the chaos of battle, Perry was able to fight off the robots without any humans noticing him. He dodged the robot arms and then used his foot spikes to tear their circuitry.

Surak found himself snatched by a robot and dragged towards its cage helplessly.

"Mom! Dad! Help!" His eyes widened as he saw Vadik and Vala seized by another robot.

"No!" Nirmala joined his wails as their cubs were dragged into the cage.

"I don't think so!" Surak went silent when he saw Heinz jump onto the robot's back and detach its head.

"Nobody knows Norm better than his father!" Heinz laughed as he placed Norm's head on the robot.

"Sir, you finally called me your son. I'm touched!" Norm took control of his new body and smashed the heads off two robots that flew at him. Surak couldn't believe that the human he mistrusted just saved his children.

"This way!" Makini shouted as she collected the cubs and brought them to a safer location.

"Grrr, just get the tree already!" Mrs. Doofenshmirtz screamed as four of the robots took out saws and surrounded the Tree of Life.

"No!" Makini wailed, reaching out for it.

"Don't touch the tree!" Isabella lassoed some vines around two of the robots and forced them to cut each other up.

Vanessa dodged sawblades from one of the robots before acrobatically kicking its head off.

"Hmp, the real Norm is sturdier." She chuckled, unaware another robot was closing in behind her.

"Vanessa, look out!" Charlene shouted. She turned just in time to see Ferb crash his robot into the last one with sawblades.

"Hey, thanks." She smiled as Ferb winked and held a thumbs up.

"Hey, robots! Have a taste of my nerd!" Buford hurled Baljeet into another robot's head.

"Let's see what we can do!" Baljeet smiled while rewiring the robot to smash into its companions.

"Throw me again!" Buford eagerly picked him up and did so.

"This place just keeps getting better!"

Kion and his Guards felt helpless as they watched the battle ensue while still trapped in their cages. The King furiously tried to get his muzzle off but to no avail.

"Come on, guys! Give them a thrashing!" Bunga cheered. Sometimes Kion wished he could stay as optimistic as his friend.

"Your majesty." Kion opened his eyes and saw Cadoc had landed on the cage and poked his head in.

"Shhh, hold still." The robot hadn't noticed him, and Cadoc began carefully taking apart Kion's muzzle.

Norm smashed apart two more of the robots before six flew in and pinned him down.

"Oh my, it seems quantity is starting to overcome quality."

"Norm!" Heinz cried as he saw the robots take Norm apart. Phineas and the other humans tried desperately to keep up the fight, but there were simply too many robots.

"Guys!" Phineas cried as he was snatched up.

"Phineas!" Isabella tried to reach him only to be snatched by another robot.

"This could have gone better." Buford said while sitting in a cage.

Perry backed up to the tree and began to sweat as he saw the army of robots closing in on him. Cadoc Squawked as a robot snatched him just before he could get Kion's muzzle off.

Taking a deep breath, Perry reached into his fedora and took out a throwing knife. Aiming it very carefully, Perry hurled the knife just as he was snatched.

"Ha ha! That's it! Now for the tree-" Roger started before noticing a muzzle fall out of one of the cages.

"Shiz-" Mr. Doofenshmirtz started.

Kion unleashed his roar like an atomic bomb that burst his cage open as well as all the others.

"What!?" Kion landed alongside the others and snarled back at the three humans.

"Ohhh, it's too bad we have more!" Roger laughed while the second wave moved in. This time, however, the Guards were prepared. Kion's roar drew all his fighting animals to the Tree's defense. A mighty army now stood against the robots with Kion at its head.

This time, Kion's forces attacked in an organized fashion. One by one, the robots were brought down by humans and animals alike. Even with their pregnancies, Rani and Afia ripped apart robots without any trouble.

Kopa and the other cubs watched the battle with stars in their eyes upon seeing their parents safe. Perry grabbed two of the saw blades and jumped onto Kion's back. Together, they ripped apart and cut down robot after robot, clearing a path to the Doofenshmirtz who began to back up.

"Ok, maybe we should get out of here." Roger and his parents turned to see the other humans blocking their exit.

"Going somewhere?" Isabella asked.

"Oh, my, we're afraid of children and Heinz-" Roger started before Isabella threw a lasso around him. With furious expressions, Phineas and Ferb hogtied Roger and stared at him like the grim reaper.

"This is for Perry!"

"No! No!" Roger screamed in more pain and agony than he thought imaginable.

"Please! Stop! I'm begging you! No!" Ferb took out a pair of scissors and began cutting Roger's hair with Phineas until it looked exactly like Heinz's.

"Ahhhhh! The horror!"

"Roger!" Mrs. Doofensmirtz started until a stiletto boot smashed into her jaw. The portly woman stumbled backward until she was grabbed by Charlene.

"You are a terrible mother!" Vanessa and her mother punched Mrs. Doofenshmirtz together.

Meanwhile, Mr. Doofenshmirtz threw punches at Heinz, who dodged them.

"Worthless! Pathetic! Good for nothing Heinz!" He sneered. Heinz's eyes narrowed, and he looked at his father, not with hatred, but pity.

"You know, I used to wish you loved me. I would have done anything for it, but a child shouldn't have to earn their father's love. Maybe I am a loser, but I love my daughter unconditionally. I'm a better father than you ever were!"

"Aahhhh!" Mr. Doofenshmirtz threw one more punch but missed. Heinz smiling as he backed away to reveal Surak.

"Oh shiz-" Mr. Doofenshmirtz started before the Night Lion mauled him.

"That's for my real father! Papa ocelot!"

Roger and his parents tumbled across the ground, covered in bruises and torn up clothes. All around them, feral looking animals approached.

"Now, now! There's no need to do anything permanent." Roger pleaded.

"Get out of my Kingdom!" Kion arched his head back and unleashed a roar that sent all three of them flying away.

"Good riddance." Surak growled.

"Won't they just come back?" Buford asked.

"No they won't, we'll expose mayor Doofenshmirtz and see him thrown in prison!" Phineas shouted.

"Mom! Dad!" Kopa sprinted over before they pounced on him together, tears in their eyes upon seeing him safe.

Heinz rubbed the back of his head, and he took a deep breath while approaching them.

"I uh, sigh, look, I'm sorry about all of this. I led them here, it's all my fault, just like everything."

"No, you came here to help a friend. You're not like them." Surak admitted before he licked Heinz's face. Nirmala now smiled and nuzzled their cubs.

"Humans aren't all bad." Surak added as he turned to the others.

"Well, we appreciate everything you've done for us." Phineas said.

"You were pretty helpful yourself." Rani said, giving each of the humans a lick. Phineas saw what time it was and turned to the others.

"It's later than I thought, we promised mom we'd be home before dinner."

"Oh, no! The hovercraft!" Baljeet cried. Kion smiled.

"I can take care of that. Just tell me when you're ready to go home."

"We've had a great time here. We'll never forget it! But we'll also be sure to keep it a secret." Isabella said as each of the others nodded.

"We won't forget the first humans we've ever met either." Bunga laughed.

"Goodbye, Phineas, I hope we meet again someday." Kopa said as he nuzzled him.

"Maybe we will if it's ok with your parents."

"You kids are always welcome here." Rani purred.

"Alright, hold hands and enjoy the ride." Kion arched his head back and roared the humans through the air in a controlled manner.

"Ohh yeah! I love this!" Buford shouted.

"Ferb, what do you say we try to fly like this again!" The green-haired boy wrote it down in a journal. Kion, Rani, and the others watched them with longing expressions.

"I'm going to miss them." Bunga said.

"I hope my little brother or sister will be like them." Kopa purred. Kion and Rani chuckled before nuzzling their son.

"Maybe."

Azaad noticed Fuli's conflicted look as she thought about the human children.

"What is it?" He asked while smiling. Fuli took a deep breath.

"Does this mean what I think it does?"

"Yes, Azaad, we can have cubs."


Miles away, Roger and his parents groaned as they struggled to get up. Dozens of their cages had landed around them.

"Alright, next time we just need to make sure-" Roger stared.

"Halt!" All three now saw five jeeps of men and women in military uniforms with weapons aimed at them.

"Poachers, they almost found the Tree of Life!" The Lieutenant growled.

"Uhhh, I have diplomatic immunity!" Roger tried to take out his mayor ID only to be handcuffed.

"Nooooooooooooooooo!" Roger wailed as he and his parents were taken away by the counter-poaching agents.


Phineas and the others landed harmlessly in their backyard.

"That was fun." He said while holding Perry.

"Well, I better get going. The Murphey's will probably have dinner ready soon." Heinz said before Charlene took his hand.

"Heinz, it's been a while since we had you over. Why don't you spend the night with us."

"Ohhh, I uh, alright." Vanessa smiled, seeing her parents talk to each other like that. She also realized that Monty no longer dwelled on her mind. Vanessa smiled at Ferb before kneeling down beside him.

"I'll see you around." She said before kissing him on the cheek. Ferb's eyes bulged, and he fell over with steam coming out of his ears.

"There you kids are, have fun?" Linda asked as she came into the backyard.

"We had the time of our lives, and most importantly, Perry's all better!"

"Ohh Phineas, Perry-" Linda started before she saw the platypus with his usual expression and heard his classic growl.

"What the!?" She quickly took Perry and felt his head.

"I, I don't believe it! This is wonderful! Come on! We need to celebrate!" Linda shouted before leading them inside. Phineas and Isabella dragged Ferb inside.

"Perry's better, but now I'm worried about Ferb." Isabella giggled.

"Oh, Phineas, one day."


Author's note

And so it ends, yep it was Heinz's family, after 4 seasons of abusive backstories I felt some catharsis was needed.

Yes the story was short, but that's all it was meant to be. I did enjoy writing it, but with the way my work and grad school are lining up I don't think I'll be able to write another Lion Guard fic, but also because I simply can't think of a good story to write, I'd take suggestions, but there's not a great chance I'd have the time to write a story regardless

In any case I hope you guys enjoyed it.